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Open Thread

Request from a reader who is working on a dissertation regarding incarceration as a result of the war on drugs:

DO YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW MEET THIS CRITERIA:

* Adult daughters (at least 18 years old)
* Identify as Black or African American
* Father incarcerated as a result of a drug offense
* Lived with your father prior to his incarceration
* The incarceration initially occurred when you were a child

If so please inbox me or email me at kcresearch2013@gmail.com. I know the criteria is strict, but this is only the beginning of my work with families and incarceration

That case, as it turns out, it surprisingly weak. It’s built on half-truths and radically decontextualized facts

Oh, and it turns out there is some evidence the New York Times was specifically aware of my page on the ONDCP being required to oppose legalization.

I hear from a source that Michele Leonhart was seen this morning in Mexico City with her full protection detail. I doubt she was vacationing. Look for some photo op on a major bust, or else she’s negotiating a deal with someone.

There was a Congressional hearing this morning led by prohibitionist Representative Mica entitled Planes, Trains and Automobiles (full video available). No it wasn’t about John Candy movies, but rather a hearing about “Operating while stoned.” Bunch of bureaucrats only, although I understand the staffers were given real scientific information from NORML (which was probably ignored).

I watched the first eight minutes of Mica’s ridiculous and lying performance and had no more patience. Someone else want to watch and report?

But ya know… damn, we need a lot of pinatas! There’s a lot of asses to be beat. So many names.

And I do feel a bit like having a party. I mean every month we’re just blown away by another dewelopment. It’s quite the year. No we ain’t won yet but damnation we been beating the bush for a long stretch and a little hootin’ and hollerin’ now and ag’in is good for the soul.

I’ve already got tinnitus so I’m going to have put on ear protection with all that pinata whacking going on.

Don’t worry about the donkey. It’s how he makes his living and he’s a consummate professional. I fully support the right of donkeys to work as prostitutes if it’s their choice. But I’ve got to say that clients like Michelle are sure to make him question his choice of career path.

Hey, did you know that in Mexico there’s a species of donkey called cave burrows? They live in ass holes.

4mica, Barr, McDonough and the other GOPerverts of the S.E. hate Americans. Especially sick Americans. Must be where they dump the white trash. Liars legislating is not American. Traitors should be tried and convicted and hung by the balls till their voices change. Except they ain’t got no balls. If the Universe had an asshole it would be between Georgia and Florida.

“We make policy based on science. We cannot make changes without the science,” said Patrice Kelly, acting director of the Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance for Department of Transportation, who also testified before the committee.

A growing body of research on the topic shows no clear connection between THC levels and impairment, unlike in the case of blood alcohol level. Moreover, some participants in recent studies have tested positive for THC long after the effects of the drug have worn off, which would complicate the enforcement of any imposed standard.

A Brookings Institution report released Thursday shows that Colorado’s legalization of marijuana has largely been successful and safe so far, particularly in surveillance and enforcement efforts. The state also has seen an increase in tax revenue as a result of the new law and a decrease in crime.

The United States government is spending $23 million to develop a killer fungus to wipe out marijuana plants a dangerous plan that could cause an environmental catastrophe, said the Libertarian Party today.

Since this is an open thread, I’d like to recount a brief phone conversation I had this afternoon.

Preface: This conversation was prompted by Kevin Sabet’s squirmy coyness regarding SAM funding. Well, another organization headed by Sabet is the Drug Policy Institute at the University of Florida (Dept. of Psychiatry in the College of Medicine). I found no contact information on the Drug Policy Institute’s web page, so I called a number found on the UF Health site. I was forwarded to the Department of Psychiatry. The voice of the secretary on the other line was pleasant in a grandmotherly sort of way;

secretary: “Hello, how can I help you?”

me: “Hello, I’d like to find out how a certain institute at your college is funded. Are you the right person to talk to?”

secretary: “Possibly, what’s the name of the institute?”

me: “The Drug Policy Institute”.

secretary: [thinking out loud] “Well, I think some funding might come from the DEA. [brief pause] The person who has that information runs the institute, Kevin Sabet. Let me see if I can put you in contact with Mr. Sabet”.

me: “Oh, okay. Great”. [I almost drop my phone]

secretary: [another brief pause] “Tell you what, it might be better if you contact him through email. He’s pretty good at answering emails. [she proceeds to very slowly spell out his email address]

me: “Do you think he’ll provide funding sources?’

secretary: “Oh yes, we have this thing we call the Sunshine Law”.

me: “Yes, I’ve heard of it. Thanks very much”.

secretary: “Have a nice day”.

I had to put this conversation in words now before I forget it. I hope you fellow couch dwellers find it at least somewhat amusing. Although the funding sources are not likely to be of any surprise, I’m going to write him anyway (just for the fun of it). I’ll report back. Hmm, that Sunshine Law…

Yes, please. As usual, it’s reformers who have to get the ball rolling before the LameStream Media catches up. The degree of their seeming lack of curiosity, given how things have been going lately, is more than a bit disingenuous…as much so as Ol’ Kevvie, himself.

After spending 30 years living in and hiking all over CA (think “alluvial”) I certainly hope this comes as no surprise to anyone.

I’m serious, we be having a really bad case o’ the dumbass and I’m hoping that the social and cultural changes we’re seeing with Prohibition II, sexual preference irrelevance, etc, means you young people will catch up to the current cognizance deficit. Tis a monumental task.

From “Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Operating While Stoned”, a quote from Rep. John Fleming (R-La.),

“As marijuana is de-stigmatized, use goes up, and it finds its way into the homes and candy and cookies and baked goods, and once it gets there, it finds its way into the brains of teens,” he said. “Marijuana will also become more pervasive as states continue to embrace permissible laws on medical marijuana and the recreational use of marijuana, and kids and youth will have easier access to the dangerous, addictive drug.”

———

Apparently according to Fleming, cannabis now has the magical quality of being able to migrate into homes, foodstuffs and the brains of teens. It just finds its way in there. Truly an amazing plant…

I get cognitive dissonance when the clueless predict the future. In the clueless prohibitionist cohort they have absolutely no doubt that they’re Kreskin. It never even crosses their minds that they could possibly be wrong despite suffering the wrath of Francis’ Law so many, many times.

Note the use of the word ‘permissive’. This is one of those ‘push a button’ or ‘hit a nerve’ words for putative ‘conservatives’.

It carries a connotation of being ‘weak’, mentally and morally ‘soft’ (another trigger word), qualities that authoritarians attribute to ‘liberals’, qualities that authoritarians find objectionable to the point of foaming at the mouth…which is why it is used, to trigger a negative reaction in the intended target.

This was also a factor in the rise of the control-freak parents movement of the late 1970’s-early 1980’s: the word ‘permissive’ encapsulated a sense of losing total control over their children (as if they ever really did have it).

Their movement was all about authoritarians regaining that (nonexistent, mythical) level of control, and asserting power over others in a very visible way. Pure ‘dominance games’. Nietzsche had such like pegged as having a ‘will to power’ long ago.

So, when you see a prohib say the word ‘permissive’ in a (typically) sneering, deprecating way, that is what s/he means by using it.

(Sputtering laughter) Next thing you know, the prohibs will be screaming about it being put into city water supplies.

They’re already saying stupid scheisse about how the current Administration wants to ‘dope up’ Americans to soften the blows of worsening economic conditions.

Honestly, don’t they realize how incredibly silly and stupid they look and sound to the general public? I’d die of embarrassment if I was caught acting and speaking the way they do. Yet, on and on they rave, seemingly not aware the audience they want to impress are instead viewing them the way one does some poor homeless mental case.

As Don Rickles said of Congress in 1983, “They all ought to be put into a ‘home’ (nice way of saying ‘looney bin’) and stop bothering the American people!” Nothing the prohibs have done since then has caused me to disagree with his sentiments.

First, I’m looking for a good quality vaporizer that will work with flowers and doesn’t cost several hundred dollars. I’m willing to spend maybe $250 tops. If anyone knows of a portable handheld flower vaporizer under $250 that’s reliable please let me know.

———————————————————

Second, after months of discussion about full extract cannabis oil, I talked my 88-year-old father into trying it out. He has prostate cancer in the last stage, diabetes, A-fib, high blood pressure, and arthritis.

Based on months and months of research I’ve done in the last year on PubMed I was anxious to get him started because each and every one of his health problems could be improved by taking the oil.

But, then I SCREWED UP. How? I gave him the “too-much-edibles-time-to-assume-the-fetal-position” dose on his second attempt. By misunderstanding the role of cannabis-naïve receptors I increased his dose TOO SOON.

He didn’t feel anything on his first try so I thought that would allow us to speed things up a bit. Time isn’t on his side right now and I was strongly motivated by that idea.

That quickly ended his brief experiment UNTIL I was able to purchase a CBD-rich version of the oil that is mostly non-psychoactive at normal dosages. However, the damage was done as he refuses to get aggressive with the oil to find a dose that will work for him and make him feel better. He’s taking it but he’s convinced that the little tiny baby dose you start out with is as far as he’s willing to go.

I often tell my Dad that I “KILLED” him by causing his first experience with cannabis to be a bad one, and he laughs at that, but it’s true. I could have helped him improve his quality-of-life and I fucked up.

I was dead-set against the idea of dosing him with the oil against or without his knowledge. I’ve had his friends tell me I should put it in his food and I refused because it’s NOT ethical.

But, a part of me really wants to do exactly that because my dispensary starting carrying a full extract cannabis oil in an olive-oil tincture. This olive-oil extracted cannabis oil can be easily be combined with prepared meals.

Should I go behind my dad’s back and do this without his knowledge? Doing the wrong thing to help a family member feel better at the end stages of life seems like a worthy reason to get sneaky. Not sure yet on what I’m going to do.

It is sad that he has been scared away from the treatment,,every one of his ailments can be treated a lot cheaper by juicing fresh leaf in his favorite fruits and vegetable mixture,,no high and the THCA(non-heated) is especially effective on arthritis and cancer cell death,,more info can be found by typing THCA in your search bar,,otherwise your sneaking will have to do.

I lost a brother-in-law to prostate cancer and like you,,I could not let him go without trying to convince him to ge to CO and get some thc oil,,his children,,two of them in the medical profession,now think I am nut job and They have not spoken to me for four years now,,I wonder what they will think when/if the truth finally wakes them up.

Sleepwalkers usually experience disorientation upon being awakened…and contrary to popular myth, you’re more in danger from them than they are from themselves when you do.

Imagine what will happen when all those DrugWar propagandized ‘sleepwalkers’ who swallowed the lies and believed them as Gospel get their ‘rude awakening’.

But, then again, as Churchill noted:

““Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.” “

The truth about cannabis has been known at least a century in the West, yet it was only drug law reformers who were interested in divining it. Sadly, even after re-legalization, most ‘cannabis naive’ (as in ‘statistically naive’, not equal to being ‘clueless’) people, unless their curiosity gets the best of them, will probably only encounter it after being prescribed it from a doctor.

Which is partly why accomplishing re-legalization soonest is so important. For we have suffered long enough the ‘tyranny of the (ignorant and uncaring) majority’. Now we are the majority, and must act to preserve that…and ourselves and our rights.

Appx 3.>4 hand sized leaf fresh,,you can also use dried marijuana,,,appx 1 gram ground into dust however dried and cured marijuana activates some of the THC and a slight buzz can result from using it,,also dried and ground marijuana can be put in capsules and taken that way.

I use a coffee grinder and then a very “fine” tea strainer to sift it through because we are not cows,,we don’t have 4 stomachs to digest foliage.

The more thc in the strain you use determines the effectiveness however I treat arthritis(not rheumatoid) with ground up brick weed and use 1 gram in a juicer from Dqiry Queen.

First, try an iolite, butane powered and only about $170.
I like my Pax, $250, for its temp control, long battery life, and sturdiness. Both have a slow draw u get used to…tho hard to teach newbs…
Pinnacle Pro is another portable vape, $250, that I have and it has the easiest draw I’ve had yet. It has five temps vs the pax’s three, but the battery doesn’t last as long, but you can use it plugged it while pax cannot be used whole charging. Unfortunately I have to send my pinnacle pro in under warranty, but I hope they honor it as it came with a water tube….I say it didn’t get wet so there… We’ll see — that is something that was easy with my iolite… I had it 2 years and replaced under warranty for another solid two years of use. 4 years with the butane powered iolite for 170, u can’t beat it.
I also really like the arizer solo for an easier draw. I have only tried my friends’ but I think it has temp control …not sure on battery life but I think u can use it while charging.
Those are all great for flowers. I would go for the iolite and the arizer if you can swing it, it just give you an extra day w/ o having to clean it… I use em so much I have to clean them often… It just goes with owning a vape as they lose efficiency severely when too gunked up. I used ever clear to clean then let it evaporate and that leaves oil to dab.
The cheapest quality battery vape is the magic flight launch box…I haven’t tried it but I’ve heard great things and u cloud get the MFLB and an iolite for about 250.
Speaking of oil I like the fog pen…not sure the price..I don’t get enough wax…never enough…need moar wax ^_^ seriously though I could use it for this mole that looks like melanoma….can’t wait for a trip to CO…or hopefully some where closer legalizes soon!

For your dad, try to find the episode of the “chong and chong” podcast where tommy talks about having to use mega doses of oil for it to work and later…or rather in more recent episode he moves on to dosing with suppositories and that keeps Tommy Chong’s prostate cancer in remission. It would be a fun father son thing to do, listen to these shows that might help him decide to try this heavy duty treatment
The first few times he tried the oil he took a finger print of it and was out for two days with Paris Chong caring for him… Great stories from the father & son stoner podcasting duo. It might give your dad the courage… I enjoy the fireside chats with Chong and Chong especially about Tommy’s successful treatments for his cancer using Phoenix tears

“First, I’m looking for a good quality vaporizer that will work with flowers and doesn’t cost several hundred dollars. I’m willing to spend maybe $250 tops. If anyone knows of a portable handheld flower vaporizer under $250 that’s reliable please let me know.”

I’ve had good luck with the DaVinci Ascent and the Iolite
The Ascent is a slick modern looking electric handheld.
Solid performer but finicky to load the bowl properly.
The Iolite is butane powered and is a simple unit with no variable temperature control . I use it when I’m off the grid for several days.
The Arizer Solo has a good reputation but I have no personal experience with one.

Good luck with your Dad Norcalnative. I’m going through the same issues with my 92 year old mom. I know cannabis would help her to deal with her ailments better but she can’t wrap her head around doing something illegal.
Plus she’s in a retirement home that would call the authorities if she had a negative reaction.
Too bad she couldn’t have gotten used to it when she was young but it’s too late now.

Hard to load means it’s a conduction vape and it seems to produce the best clouds when packed tight with a couple of glass flowers in the bowl to act as heat sinks.
You can’t just throw it in loose and get as good of hits
which doesn’t bother me but might frustrate an elderly person.

My wife and I like going on sea kayaking and backpacking trips into wilderness areas hence the reference to ” off the grid “.

Actually my mom was in a lot of arthritis pain today and we had the MM discussion again.
She’s not ready to take the leap yet but I’d like to try a low dose in a fruit smoothy but I would avoid de -carbing the THCA. I don’t want to get her stoned…just want to relieve the inflammation .
I understand there are CB1 and CB2 receptors in the joints.
The doctor had her on Tylenol 3 and they made her sick.

I’d consider you go shopping and “find” that the only High CBD strain in stock – has a little bit of THC in it too…

You know maybe just enough to catch a tiny buzz or mix two types or something – and go with the vape instead of the oil, So that… Hhmm?? – Okay, I got it maybe “they’re saying this strain works better if it avoids stomach acid”. because stomach acid severely reduces the bio-availability of the cannabinoids that do the real healing…

And that may not be an exaggeration – it’s plausible at least and don’t do anything edible at all again = Until you’ve managed to get him very mildly buzzed a couple times, then mildly buzzed once, and then again…

Try to work on getting him to Vape some flowers/leaves to help titrate the dosage (of a another “new-ish” strain one that smells/tastes different)

I’d stress that many people find that (and this is no exaggeration) that “CBD and THC are believed to have a synergistic effect – meaning that when they are both present at therapeutic levels they are more effective together than they are alone.”
(That’s also believed to be totally true for some folks with different or certain illnesses…)

You might try to explain Terpenes – if he objects to Vape-ing of flowers/plant-matter, and That’s a real thing as well.. Try hitting him up with some wisdom like what you’ll find here

This synergy has a scientific basis in our body’s endocannabinoid system…”

“Most importantly, terpenes may offer incredible medical value as they mediate our body’s interaction with therapeutic cannabinoids. Many cannabis analysis labs now test terpene content, so any consumer can have a better idea of what effects their strain might produce. With their unlimited combinations of synergistic effects, terpenes will likely open up new scientific and medical terrains for cannabis research.”

Sorry for the awkwardness of the link – but this is something I’ve seriously been attempting to study = and I haven’t smoked flowers or anything outside a few Marlboro’s in nearly 8 years!(*sigh*, I will remedy that sometime – it’s a long complicated story… But, “Because Texas” is the best I care to explain publicly for now.)

Terpenes are freaking awesome and I hope you continue your research on those funny flowers.

I had a strain called “Pineapple Thai” that had such awesome terpenes it actually seemed to get me high just from smelling it! And, it appears as you mentioned in your post that the “smell” test can be a great way to get and find cannabis that works for you.

Interestingly, my next visit to the dispensary a young dude was whining about how the “Pineapple Thai” was shit and didn’t do a thing for him.

Rick Simpson recommends when giving the higher dose for the first time that you give it to the patient at night, about half an hour before the patient normally goes to sleep. That way the patient doesn’t experience the discomfort of being too high and decide to not do the oil any longer. He recommends increasing the dose every 4th day, until the patient is taking a full gram per day (the maximum dosage needed, usually in 4 doses taken 6 hours apart) for the best results. I have a friend who has never been a cannabis user but is now on the oil to treat his melanoma, so I researched the protocol for him, so he would be fully informed about what to expect from using it and how to use it to maximum effect.

“When Americans learn that law enforcement officials can take their property without convicting them of a crime, they are outraged and want the practice to stop,” said Institute for Justice Senior Attorney Scott Bullock. “This online initiative educates citizens about the pernicious practice of civil forfeiture and what they can do to fight back.”

Bobby was clued in somehow that Anslinger was a wacko. So he arranged for a meeting between Jack and Bobby wherein Bobby had warned Jack, saying, ‘hey, you’ve got to take a look at his guy’, like he’s bad news.

Sure enough, Anslinger’s authoritarian, racist drug rant at the meeting was enough to convince the bros that Anslinger must go. The Kennedys awarded Anslinger a service medal at his retirement to make it look as if he’d done a good job. They should have arranged for a car and bridge accident. Anslinger went on to promote the 1971 Single Treaty, cackling “they’ll never legalize marijuana now”.

“”Much of the country — with The New York Times regrettably in the vanguard — is advocating the reckless addition of a third drug, marijuana, to two drugs currently legal for adults: alcohol and tobacco. “These two legal drugs are the leading causes of preventable illness.””

The legal status of a drug has dramatic impact on its use. In the last 30 days, 52 percent of Americans 12 and older used alcohol, 27 percent used tobacco and only 7 percent used marijuana. The dramatically lower level of marijuana use reflects its illegal status, not its appeal. Why is it in our nation’s interest to see marijuana use climb? Since when is smoking a program that we promote?””

It’s getting easier and easier to spot the mercenary Waldos of the prohibs.

“… president and chief executive of Phoenix House, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center.”

“…President and Chief Executive, Partnership for Drug-Free Kids”

It’s a wonder they have enough time to put down the handfuls of their taxpayer-supplied dollars for court-remanded cannabis ‘treatment’ that they’re gleefully counting, money-grubbing fashion, long enough to type their BS.

Yea, verily, “…by their works, ye shall know them.” Nothing more than amoral, hypocritical mercs, each and every one.

Much of the country — with The New York Times regrettably in the vanguard — is advocating the reckless addition of a third drug, marijuana, to two drugs currently legal for adults: alcohol and tobacco.

“Much of the country – with the New York Times regrettably in the vanguard – is advocating the reckless addition of a third vehicle, buses, to the vehicles currently legal for adults: cars and trucks.”

Drug warrior logic at its finest. Applied in any other context (be it discussing junk food or sports etc) it would get you laughed out of the building.

‘Much of the country’…is telling such as Bensinger and DuPont that the game is truly over.

‘Much of the country’ is also saying something else: Your (prohibs) lies don’t work anymore.

Really, when will these stupid old frakkers get the message? Go. Away. Just effin’ go away. Their day is done, their race is run…and they’ve been beaten.

Do they honestly think they can compete in a marathon with those who’ve become lean and mean, hard and tough thanks to their decades-long prohibition, while they’ve gotten fat, dumb and happy while dining on our tax dollars?

We’ve outlasted them. And now the finish line is in sight, and when you look behind, they’re so far back they’re just a tiny blob barely sticking up over the horizon.

But still they carry on like a has-been entertainer not wanting to acknowledge that the audience they played to is either as senescent as they are, or dead. They don’t have the sense to realize they’ve overstayed their welcome…and it’s time for them to go.

Whether they depart with dignity or not is no longer up to them, but up to how long we’re willing to continue being as patient with their antics as we have been.

I usually don’t listen to talk radio but today i tuned up the show of one of the superstars of the criminalizing of Medicine Flower. He calls himself “Doctor” Savage. Do not underestimate him. He is a convincing promoter of disinformation. He appears to have advanced knowledge of NLP and is very adept at a bland delivery to pass off massive lies as if it is solidly proven fact. Never a reference to where he gets his list of all the things found in “marijuana”. Just his friendly semi hip rationalizing of his prohibition stand on the beauty bud. Shill.

Michael Savage is caricatured in the movie The Darwin Awards starring Winona Ryder and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Savage is depicted as the rejected wannabe beat poet turned serial killer who gets a face full of flower pot in the end.

(Doctor) Michael Savage (aka Weiner) is not only a failed beat poet who hung out briefly with Alan Ginsberg, Savage failed to get a teaching position at a university, as if any university would hire someone whose master’s degree is in homeopathy. Responding to his utter failures as a liberal, Mr. Savage became the right wing, anti-intellectual, turd-tossing wingnut and radio shockjock he is today.

In typical congressional fashion, the hearing accomplished nothing. Some house members complained about a lack of data on the topic. They probably mean negative data, as there is plenty of positive data showing the fears related to stoned driving are much ado about nothing. Publications such as Car & Driver Magazine have run comparison tests between alcohol/driving versus marijuana/driving since the 1970s. Marijuana has always been exonerated in these tests.

A young girl in New York died recently waiting for New York’s mmj law to take effect. Her family was instrumental in pushing to get the law passed (a few other children have died since then as well). Gov. Cuomo’s and Albany’s foot dragging originally suggested the law would take 18 months to be implemented. Now Cuomo is “urgently” working to speed up the process (nice timing). But maybe, referencing the link above, this waiting is not necessary? For any children in any state with intractable epilepsy?

“What about the [fill in the blank]?”

Next up: the demonization of THC needs to bite the dust. As a compound, it is every bit as medically valuable as CBD.

Cannabinoid-Terpenoids Synergy: How It Helps Us Medically
We have previously touched on the topic of synergy between cannabinoids. Synergy is an important thing to understand in pharmacology. It is defined as the result of multiple elements interacting to produce a greater effect than the sum of individual effects. This means that synergy works by either improving the therapeutic effects or even magnifying the side effects.

Cannabis, depending on the strain contains different amounts of cannabinoids ranging from the popular CBD and THC to the lesser known cannabinoids. What most people don’t know is that it also contains 66 other cannabinoids as well as terpenes.

“They didn’t have the science to support that claim, and I now know that when it comes to marijuana neither of those things are true,” wrote Gupta, citing patient cases including a 3-year-old whose seizures were dramatically reduced from 300 a week to three a month with medical marijuana’s help.

CBD probably has a lot more medicinal applications than does Delta-9 THC. But the one thing that CBD does have over THC is that it’s approvable without the inevitable bullshit arguments about getting people high. Once it was approved by the FDA for use in human medicine it obviated the argument that organic exo-cannabinoid medicines have no valid medicinal utility. The fact that the FDA approved it for infants, toddlers, and young school children sends a very powerful “message” which cuts off the prohibitionists at the knees. Just like the limited re-legalization laws in Colorado and Washington made re-legalization for enjoyment inevitable, once that FDA approval became real it’s only a matter of time before the whole house of cards collapses.

These things take time, especially when the people on the other side of the table are suffering from a shared madness. Their arguments only can remain effective if enough people share those opinions. There’s a very good reason why the prohibitionists didn’t want to let us have even a tiny part of the world to call our home.

“CBD probably has a lot more medicinal applications than does Delta-9 THC.”

“Probably”? Come on now, Duncan, lets not use prohibitionist’s qualifiers. CBD is the cannabinoid de jour these days because it’s non-psychoactive. That’s the one big reason it gets so much press these days. THC is the red-headed stepchild child locked in the closet due to the other side’s “shared madness”. Remember, it was THC’s shrinking of tumors that caused the government lockdown of THC research way back in the 1970’s. Now its, “Look, here’s your CBD, we’re giving you medical marijuana!”. Bullshit.

Probably is not a weasel word, it’s an acknowledgement that there isn’t enough research to state it as fact. At this point in human knowledge it is absolutely true. But since real research into the benefits of the different cannabinoids has been stifled by Know Nothing politicians and paid for preferred results research scientists there’s simply not enough information to reach a conclusion one way or the other.

But I will say that I think that the existence of synthetic dronabinol is strong supporting evidence that my assertions are correct. Like it or not Marinol® is ∆-9 THC. It’s been in Federal schedule III for a decade and a half and the prohibitionists would experience a spontaneous ejaculation if they could prove that it’s just as good as organic whole plant exo-cannabinoid medicines. While not proven it most certainly supports the theory that ∆-9 THC is not the primary cannabinoid that gives cannabis its medicinal utility.

Perhaps in the future you might remember that cannabis isn’t a religion to me. On the contrary, when we get down to brass tacks cannabis is more accurately a very mundane substance. IMHO of course. If you want to worship at the altar of cannabis please feel free to do so but don’t expect to find me genuflecting next to you.

As it becomes increasingly apparent that the legalization of cannabis is a done deal, I find I have less and less patience for reading/watching/listening to the same old prohibitionit drivel. Just a year ago, I would read every word of an anti-cannabis screed. Now I don’t even feel motivated to click the link. I feel gratified to see Peter is also feeling this BS fatigue, asking others to watch and report on the republickin circle jerk. I think we’re starting to have faith in the people to see through the lies and ignorance. The NYT thing changed everything!

“As it becomes increasingly apparent that the legalization of cannabis is a done deal, I find I have less and less patience for reading/watching/listening to the same old prohibitionist drivel.”

I know this sentiment well. Not long ago my wife reminded me of when I would get into long conversations (and many arguments) on alt.marijuana, alt.legalize.drugs, etc. back in the old usenet days (roughly 20 years ago). In the various places I’ve lived I’ve had drug prohibition-related letters to the editor published in probably 7 different newspapers (sometimes multiple letters). She also noticed I seem to have pulled back from engaging in every possible venue related to the subject in recent years. This is true, but I’ve just honed might sights a little narrower. I, too, am a bit fatigued and have less patience for the whole thing. But I also realize now is NOT the time to take to the recliner. Fortunately, the need to chase the prohibitionists down and thump their numbskulls has become less of a burden for those of us who were outnumbered for so long. They’re more folks willing to join the fray to get a thump or two in for themselves now. That certainly helps. It’s been a worthy fight and will continue to be.

“”Dr. Marilyn Huestis, a senior investigator at the National Institute on Drug Abuse said current research shows drivers using cannabis are at twice the risk of getting into an accident or a fatal accident.””

So does driving 5 mph over the speed limit,,can you imagine the costs of throwing drivers in jail for 5mph over the speed limit?

Knowingly falsifying testimony to legislate corrupt laws is the true crime, NOT breaking the corrupt law to provide a safer, cheaper and more effective alternative. The Ganjawar crime you don’t commit until the cops provide the illicit substance to bust you for possession, inhaling or not. Can’t even tell if a crime has been committed until they steal your bodily fluids. Has no causal connection but that need not let it worry the drug worriers. Millions of people forced into prisons and rehabilitation asylums for relieving pain and seizures. The DEA’s job is to keep Ganja outlawed, not science, compassion or truth… methinks only we the people will weed the people.

When the crime is so minor, having marijuana, and the punishment is so unreasonable, taking people’s homes and years of their lives, as well as a very real Twentieth century shunning, one is forced to look for deeper motives. I have come to believe that it is not the proscription of a substance but the systematic oppression of a certain kind of people. There have been a whole series of decisions made, on local, state and federal levels, to the effect that hippies, by which is meant any committed liberal persons, are undesirable and are to be banned, interdicted, harassed, discouraged, arrested and pee-tested. It is a blatant use of police power to frighten and intimidate millions of people into giving up a heartfelt spiritual practice and lifestyle.

There are probably 25 million marijuana smokers in the United States alone, as well as millions more who if not smokers now, are still sentimental about it. The oppression to which I refer is for the purpose of keeping these millions of people off balance to minimize their political power. All those 500,000 pot smokers doing time are out of the political process, present but not able to vote. The urine test is the loyalty oath of the Nineties. The hippies are this season’s Jews, this season’s Reds…

Who are these people? We are the yeast that makes the dough rise. And it’s not just us, there’s been people like us for centuries. Before there were hippies, there were beatniks, before there beatniks, there were bohemians. The European counterculture ran away from Nazi Germany. They brought hundreds of thousands of artists and musicians and writers into this country. Before that there were people like George Bernard Shaw and Voltaire and all the way back to Socrates. There have always been that fraction of people who have said, “I want to see the truth.”

Maureen Dowd should take note. If you were trying alcohol for the first time, say with a bottle of vodka… do you take one shot or drink the whole bottle? And if she had consumed a whole bottle of vodka would she have felt as good the next day as she did after eating her whole 10 dose (or whatever it was) brownie.

Thank you PA state Sen Leach. You have just represented sir, well done!

And has anyone commented that whichever bakery provided the brownie Dowd ate, it must have been tasty. Pre-stone munchies… heh, rookies.

I don’t know about Maureen but the first time I got drunk I drank the whole bottle. I’m not talking about those cute little airplane bottles either. Actually that experience and similar around the same time is why I never use drinking alcohol except as a solvent.

I sure didn’t anticipate these outsiders traveling to Colorado to choose to enjoy cannabis and then make it public cud.

Does anyone else especially enjoy irony? Well this one is a dictionary picture worthy example of that word.

In 2004 the Medical Marijuana Program Act was implemented by the State of Caloifornia. Among other things it provided for the opportunity for patients to voluntarily join a State registry and get an ID card which was billed as providing protection from arrests. The law assigned the task of issuing those cards. The Counties of San Diego and San Bernardino and filed a lawsuit argued on the basis of Federal preemption. Despite being laughed out of every Courthouse which considered the case County of San Diego v San Diego NORML was taken to the SCOTUS But that’s not entirely a bad thing, those SCOTUS Justices can always use a good laugh.

CO is rolling in the bucks; CA is fiscally imploding in slow motion. As predicted, CO is becoming a monetary and cultural ‘brain drain’, a high – (no pun intended) powered magnet drawing to itself wealth, talent, drive to succeed, tax revenues, etc.

Other States are watching very closely, and wondering what it will take to enjoy equal good fortune. In answer, I say, to paraphrase The Bard’s central character in Richard III, “First thing we do, we fire all the prohibs!”

kaptin, hold your horses old man! You’re getting way out in front of yourself. Also, I think that it’s much more likely the successful, tax generating regulatory schemes adopted by San Francisco and Oakland would be more meaningful to the San Bernardino authorities. Colorado has what, 4 years of authorized retail vendors history? Oakland and San Francisco have been doing their programs since before the turn of the century, and they’ve been doing it under the patina of State law for a decade now. Sheesh, San Francisco has had store front medicinal cannabis vendors for longer than the State has had the Compassionate Use Act.

But isn’t it from Cannabis Law Reform 101 to assert that new public revenue at no cost in political capital is to a politician as crack is to a crack head? Give ’em some free samples and in a couple of years they won’t be able to quit without experiencing some significant withdrawal pains.

You can only jack up the tax on rental cars and hotels by a limited amount and those wells are just about dry. My wife flew to Phoenix and we got to pay a $5 surcharge on the rental car to help pay for the Arizona Diamondback’s brand new baseball stadium.

Here’s an example of why San Bernardino authorities might not mind emulating San Francisco which I also posted in the comments column under the instant article:

According to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the 2013 youth use rates of cannabis in San Francisco, San Bernardino, and the United States:

Ever used marijuana (one or more times during their life)
San Bernardino: 43.7%
San Francisco: 28.2%
United States: 40.7%

Tried marijuana before age 13 years (for the first time)
San Bernardino: 12.0%
San Francisco: 5.9%
United States: 8.6%

Currently used marijuana (one or more times during the 30 days before the survey)
San Bernardino: 22.9%
San Francisco: 16.3%
United States: 23.4%

CA balanced its first budget in decades taxing the rich. We have also created wealthy growers and dispensaries without giving ransom to Obama or Brownose in tax payola. CO has only driven prices past the black market and when the tourists have other alternatives, business will slow or die. Tax the rich.http://i62.tinypic.com/29gmrer.jpg

Oooo, Duncan. ME TOO!!! LOL There’s a restaurant here in Guadalajara where I buy 2 NY Cheesecakes at a time. No stores or bakeries make a true cheesecake here. Most are “cake” where NYCC is “pie.” PLUS, we just got a “Cheesecake Factory” here. Tell me, how do you cook the cheese flavor OUT of cheesecake? LMAO No, I’ll stick with “Del Gol.” Helga knows NY Cheesecake! Which reminds me, There some in the fridge calling me. BRB……

cheer up duncan, if i didn’t have diabetes every day would be cheesecake day. and since i do have diabetes the national cheesecake market is tilted just that much in your favor. drive a hard bargain my friend.

The Santa Ana Police Department once again raided many of Santa Ana’s medical marijuana dispensaries, arresting over 40 people, last night according to OC-NORML’s Facebook page.

The SAPD made 42 arrests after similar raids in mid-July this year, according to the O.C. Register.

The City of Santa Ana banned medical marijuana dispensaries in 2007, but that was ridiculous given that the people of California approved the use of medical marijuana via a statewide ballot measure, Prop. 15, back in 1996.
(snip)

That’s Prop 215 and it doesn’t cover selling it. That was determined by Raich v Gonzales to be Federal Jurisdiction. BUT the CA Supreme Court ruled that CA cops can not enforce Federal laws so there may be a case for those busted.

There is only ONE way to legally sell cannabis and that is to remove it as a controlled substance. They sell patented cannabinoids and hemp products but no Ganja is legal Federally. Not in the Incrementally ill states either. Obama is not enforcing the law, that is different than being legal. Santa Ana will no doubt pay a fortune for their cops egos. Probably have to give the evidence back.

Hey guys, I was blown away by the excellent responses I got about my dad. THANKS to everyone I really appreciate it.

Since this is an open thread and it’s about drugs maybe folks would be interested in how stupid I can actually be.

I’ve been putting off doing cannabis withdrawal because when it comes to NOT sleeping I’m probably the biggest pussy in the world. So Thursday I started a “DRUG HOLIDAY” from all cannabis including CBD dominant.

I had a few morphine pills left over from my detox three months ago and had the bright idea that maybe it would help me sleep. My old dose was 30mg and I used 45mg of M.S. Contin (slow-acting) morphine. It didn’t help me sleep but it was very relaxing and I didn’t spend all wakeless night tossing and turning.

But then in morning I got sick from the morphine and was in bad shape the entire day and early evening. That’s when I remembered the same thing happened to me years ago when I started on the narcotic analgesic.

Tonight I took an aspirin instead. It was really tempting to grab for some cannabis oil when I was puking and feeling shitty today, but I want and need to refresh my cannabinoid receptors so I can actually ENJOY cannabis again.

Other than some increased neuropathy that the cannabis controls well, I’m feeling pretty good now that I’ve over the dope-sickness.

I know that feeling off for a few days is a fair price for re-establishing my ability to get high again and I going to need to initiate a regular drug holiday time in the future so I can continue to enjoy the full benefits of the greatest plant known to mankind.

When you get to the point where a 25x dose brownie is something you split in half, it’s TIME to quit and lower the tolerance level. Besides, I should be able to save some money.

That case turned out that way decades ago (including when Alcohol Prohibition failed to a degree igniting the massive pressure needed to meet the serious challenge in amending our federal Constitution), and millions of non-rights-infringing people suffered as a result of mass manipulation since then to powerfully sustain that weak case.

The primary tool of choice for mass manipulation is the mainstream media. Such media are in fact culpable for violating their journalism code of ethics by refusing to expose that obviously weak case long ago. Had they maintained those ethics, Certain Drug Prohibition would have been exposed long ago as the law-abusing scam it most certainly is, and society would be on a much brighter path with respect to use and abuse.

I am happy that the mainstream media increasingly changes their tune against Certain Drug Prohibition for whatever reason (even though the only logical conclusion is that change is self-serving), and that obviously swings mass manipulation towards the right direction.

However, without apologizing and holding themselves accountable for sustaining the horrible results of that weak case, that in and of itself is also terribly weak.

In Alaska the enemies of freedom have named their dog & pony show “Big Marijuana, Big Mistake” BMBM is very upset with the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol because they had the audacity to portray BMBM as competent and intelligent without consulting BMBM in advance. BMBM is just not going to tolerate that behavior! They have promised to do their best to dispel that absurd notion and have launched a campaign in order to prove that they’re neither. Finally, a political campaign where they have the facts on their side. I think it’s safe to say that no one is going to be betting against them. It looks like an open and shut case to me.

But talk about a picture perfect example of malignant narcissism! I don’t see BMBM’s name anywhere on those ads.

On Monday, the first pro-marijuana ads of the campaign season started rolling around on city buses. They show a pint glass of beer, a tumbler of hard liquor, and then a cannabis leaf with the word “safer” written over it.

Then, on Wednesday, a bright red sticker was added, reading “Our opponents AGREE!” Those stickers were inspired by a comment Big Marijuana Big Mistake spokesperson Tom Tougas made at a recent debate in Soldotna.

TOUGAS: When you think of this initiative, and you say, ‘marijuana is safer than alcohol, and I don’t disagree with that …

/snip/

I think it’s just plain nice of the prohibitionists to be such knee jerk reactionaries and give us nationwide exposure for the price of a local ad campaign. Keep up the good work you nitwits!

Its the tired old story of big marijuana selling to children. Children, children, children. Trying to convince everyone that its all about selling to children.

Prohibition sells to children.

The only way left to get any press play for these less than altruistic money grubbers is to buy some. The ads should be banned for promoting tactics than make marijuana available to children by supporting a black market.

My first reaction to the ad was “why is Johnny Depp badly Photoshopped onto a business suit?” My second reaction was that Johnny Depp should sue Kevin Sabet for using the actor’s Pirates of the Caribbean image without his consent. It’s a trademark violation.

The ad is really unprofessional. It depicts three stereotypes, the scary marijuana dealer, the evil corporatist, and all the Caribbean pirates who want look like Johnny Depp. SAM is trying to make three pieces of a puzzle fit together, and they don’t. It doesn’t work. There is no definitive reason in this day and age why Big Marijuana would want to market itself like Big Tobacco once did. Sabet and his group have failed to provide a motive in their case against cannabis.

…or why “Big Merrywanna” would be able to get away with what “Big Tobacco” did. The tactics used by “BT” depended on the ignorance of the general public. Those road apples aren’t going back in the horse. Once aware of the tactics employed in a major scam there’s no reason to believe that those tactics could work once again. The fact that the clown prince of prohibition can’t come up with a better piece of hysterical rhetoric is just plain pathetic. It remains to be seen if the general public is really stupid enough to fall for it.

I’d like to see some rebuttals….”scaed of “Big Merrywanna?” If you’re not stupid or insane you’d be more repuled by “Big Prohibition,” “Big Addictionology” and/or “Big Fat Liars.”

“”We thought a paper like the Times – led by Andrew Rosenthal, the son of former Times executive editor, Pulitzer Prize winning Abe Rosenthal, a stalwart critic of legalization – would have done some more homework on the issue,” the website posted Saturday””

This is the same group that last week had articles all over the country complaining they were fighting big rich supporters of legalization and doing so with very little money themselves,,,mostly volunteers.

Of course they don’t count the PSA’s paid for with our tax dollars and run on every channel in America or the Rand group at beck and call of the federal government to provide statistics that sound important but in reality mean nothing,,,,does anyone have any idea what a full page ad costs in the NYT and if the legalization side of the issue has SO much more funds available than the prohibs why haven’t reformers taken out a full page ad for legalization in the NYT??

The editors really should do some deep fact checking. 163 years ago was 1851. Fitz Hugh Ludlow lived in and did his research for “The Hasheesh Eater” in New York City. The Gunjah Wallah company piggybacked the success of that book marketing hasheesh candy and called New York City home.

The Arabian “Gunjh” of Enchantment confectionized. — A most pleasurable and harmless stimulant. — Cures Nervousness, Weakness, Melancholy, &c. Inspires all classes with new life and energy. A complete mental and physical invigorator.”

I suppose it’s remotely possible that the New York Times didn’t accept that advertising, or perhaps no one approached to buy ad space.

I often wonder if people miss that part of American culture simply because the spelled the word with two Es instead of an I and preferred to eat it rather than smoke.

Then there’s the search I did the other day into The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. A piece of arcana that I didn’t mention was that law was 27 years in the making. From what I read the primary stumbling block was that it was going to put a lot of “patent medicine” mongers out of business. Those businesses wrote clauses in there contracts with newspapers that if the didn’t at least ignore the debate that they’d pull their advertising. The claim was that there were a significant number of newspapers which were all but wholly dependent on that advertising. None of that proves that the NY Times accepted even a single ad for cannabis based patent medicines but it sure does make me skeptical of the claim.